The invention relates to a transaction method of an electronic money system for performing a cash transaction by using electronic money withdrawn from a bank account to an IC card and, more particularly, to a transaction method of an electronic money system suitable for buying and selling of goods in a retail trade such as department store, supermarket, or the like.
In recent years, an IC card which has been standardized by banks and a terminal equipment such as ATM, CD, counter equipment, etc. from which cash can be withdrawn by the IC card are rapidly being put into practical use. The IC card which is issued from the bank has a lending region in which an additional value by enabling the IC card to be used in addition to a bank using region according to a bank standard format. By using the lending region of the IC card, therefore, various use forms using a computer network of an on-line host system of the bank provided for the IC card can be expected.
On the other hand, in a retail trade such as department store, supermarket, convenience chain store, or the like, a POS system for managing sales has already been established. By providing a reader/writer function of the IC card for a terminal of the POS system, an electronic money system to buy goods by using the IC card can be constructed.
FIG. 1 (PRIOR ART) is a block diagram of an electronic money system using an IC card which is generally proposed at present. First, a bank host system 1016 is provided for a bank 1014. Terminal equipment such as ATM (automatic cash transaction machine) 1026, CD (cash dispenser) 1028, and the like which are provided by the bank 1014 are connected to the bank host system 1016 through a network 1018. The ATM 1026 and CD 1028 can use an IC card 1030 which is issued by the bank to a consumer 1012 and can execute an ordinary transaction such as defrayal, savings, transference, balance inquiry, etc. for a consumer account 1044. Further, there are provided electronic money services such that a necessary money amount is withdrawn from the consumer account 1044 to the IC card 1030 and the money amount withdrawn to the IC card 1030 can be used as electronic money in a cash transaction. When the consumer 1012 withdraws a necessary money amount from the consumer account 1044 to the IC card 1030, the bank host system 1016 transfers the money amount withdrawn from the consumer account 1044 to a pool account 1045 for electronic money services and separately manages it. In order to enable a transaction by the electronic money of the IC card to be performed, in a retail trade 1000, a reader/writer 1024 which can cope with the IC card 1030 is installed in a POS terminal 1022 of a shop, a store, or the like connected to the POS host system 1020. When the consumer 1012 buys goods from the retail trade 1000, a sales person sets the IC card 1030 into the reader/writer 1024, withdraws a requested money amount summed by a register operation of the POS terminal 1022 from the electronic money of the IC card 1030, and sends a use notification 1002 to the bank host system 1014 by an on-line. The bank host system 1016 which received the use notification 1002 transfers the notified reception money amount to a retail trade account 1042 from the pool account 1045, and returns a transference completion notification to the POS host system 1020, thereby completing a payment by the electronic money.
Such an electronic money system using the IC card, however, has the following problems. At present, since the issue and management of the IC card is mainly performed by the bank, a preparation burden of necessary equipment becomes a subject in order to enable the transaction by the electronic money of the IC card to be performed. However, even if the necessary equipment are prepared, in the present settlement by the electronic money, an effect corresponding to it cannot be expected as compared with cash or a credit card. Even for a consumer who uses the electronic money services, such services have only a function as a substitution of the cash and different from a case of a bank account, no interest is derived from the electronic money held in the IC card, so that it seems that there is no merit. Further, even for the bank, a new service system has to be constructed for the POS system of the retail trade as a target and the existing system and construction need to be remarkably changed. That is, there are problems such that in association with the electronic money services, a pool money managing process and its withdrawing process are necessary and a construction of the existing system has to be remarkably changed.